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Petrovsky Palace orPetroff Palace, is a palace located inMoscow onLeningradsky Prospect. It was founded in 1780 under the orders ofCatherine the Great.[1]
In the 1770sCatherine the Great decided to build a new palace to be used for short stopovers en route fromSt Petersburg toMoscow. Apart from being of practical use, the erection of the Petrovsky Palace also had a symbolical nature and was connected with Russia's victory in the Russian-Turkish War and with the signing of theTreaty of Kucuk-Kainarji. Construction management was entrusted toVasily Bazhenov but was soon handed over toMatvey Kazakov.[1]
Thanks to the activity of the chief architect, the work was completed in a relatively short time – the main construction work was completed in 1779 and the interior decoration in 1783. The speed of construction was also evidenced by the architect's project drawings, which depict the palace in the process of an erection and which differ in many details from the actual building. According to the surviving plans, the palace was supposed to have more decorations. Despite these differences, no significant changes were made to the original composition.
Catherine II stayed at the palace only twice: in 1785 she spent four days there on her way fromNovgorod and ten days on her way from theCrimea in 1787. AfterPaul I, Russian monarchs used the Petrovsky Palace as the last stop on their way to the coronation in theKremlin.[1]
In July 1920, at the insistence of the People's Commissar of EducationAnatoly Lunacharsky, the complex was transferred to theSoviet Air Forces:
Taking into account the vast future that awaits aviation, I consider it highly expedient to transfer the Petrovsky Palace to the control of the air fleet, especially since, according to my information, this palace has been brought almost completely unfit for habitation and is hardly rational is now in use. Aviaflot could bring this building into a residential state. It is not difficult to agree on permanent monitoring by your department of the building, which in no case would allow damage to it, as a historical and artistic monument. <...> I would strongly insist on the need to dispose of the palace for this very purpose.[2]
In 1923, theAcademy of the Air Fleet named after N. E. Zhukovsky moved into the palace, and began a comprehensive reconstruction of the building for her own needs, and the name was changed to the Palace of "Red Aviation".[3] The canteen was reopened in the main building of the palace, administration offices and a library were also arranged, the left wing was given to theprinting house, the right wing was converted into a laboratory, and the academy workers were placed in the outbuildings. If the main halls of the first floor have partially preserved architectural decoration, the second and third have been completely redesigned. For example, there was a ventilation pipe stretched through thefacade, ceilings were replaced in the left wing, and a fuel tank and a coal pit appeared in the right wing. In the autumn of1941, the headquarters ofLong Range Aviation and theAir Defense Forces were based in the building.[2]
Currently, Petrovsky Palace is part of Moscow's city limits and the nearest metro station to it isDynamo. Since 1997, the palace has been under the jurisdiction of the city administration. In 1998, at the initiative of Moscow mayorYury Luzhkov, the palace was given back its former name – Petrovsky Palace. Because of the numerous transformations, only a few historical fragments have survived: the decoration of the Round Hall and the four vestibules, the main staircase, and some furniture. The palace has been undergoing renovation work since 1998. Since 2011, a hotel complex has been located on the first floor and wings of the palace, while the ground floor was given to the museum. The palace is also the official Reception House of the Moscow government.[4]
55°47′37″N37°33′08″E / 55.7935°N 37.5521°E /55.7935; 37.5521